Hero
by KaraOhki
Summary: Ryoga carries a lot of labels.  Wanderer, lost boy, piglet...but hero?  Why?


**HERO**

A Ranma ½ Fan Fiction

By June "KaraOhki" Geraci

Ranma ½ and its characters are the property and creation of Rumiko Takahaski. This story was written for entertainment purposes only, and may not be used commercially.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I'm lost."<p>

The sun was hot overhead, and the boy pulled out his water bottle and took a small sip. It would need refilling soon, and he hoped that he'd run across another creek . He looked up at the snow on top of the mountains, and thought of how cool it would feel to touch it, but he wasn't about to start climbing. That would only take him further from home, wherever that was.

The boy pulled his compass out of his pocket, looked at it, and laughed at himself. He was lost because he'd thought he could use the silly thing. Perhaps he'd be better off following his nose.

A few hours later, hot and thirsty, he stopped and listened. That was definitely the sound of running water.

Someone had gotten there first. A young man lay in the grass at the edge of the creek, staring into the sky. He became aware that he was no longer alone, and jumped to a sitting position.

"Hey, sorry to startle you. I was looking for water."

The boy cautiously approached, and filled his water bottle. He splashed his face and hands, and ran a wet hand through his hair.

"That feels SO much better. It's so hot!"

He pulled off his pack, dropped it onto the grass, and plopped down beside it. Wondering why he hadn't received any response to his remarks, he slowly held out his hand.

"My name's David. What's yours?"

His hand was taken in a tentative shake.

"Ryoga. Nice to...nice to meet you. Pardon me, my English is not good."

To Ryoga's amazement, David replied in Japanese.

"I took up Japanese when I watched Shogun. Talking to you would be good practice."

Ryoga laughed.

"I was thinking the same thing, but speaking Japanese is easier for me. You see, I've read more English than I've heard."

"Really? Like what?"

Ryoga blushed, and pulled a paperback out of his backpack.

"Don't laugh - but I read stuff like this all the time. You see, I spend a lot of time wandering, alone."

David found himself holding a Star Trek novel. He looked up, grinning.

"Why should I laugh? Want to know why I'm out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Sure."

"I'm trying to prove myself. I'm always being protected by my folks, and I'm sick of it! There's a Vulcan tradition for proving you're an adult where you go off on your own to survive, and I got the idea I should try it..."

Ryoga nodded in understanding.

"Yes! I read about it-it's called S..S.. Damn! I know it starts with an S!"

David grinned.

"Are you sure? I thought it was with a K..."

Their eyes met, and suddenly both burst out laughing. David was the first to recover.

"I can't believe how ridiculous this is. I go out into nowhere, trying to follow a fictional tradition, and I can't even remember what the thing is called! Can you imagine anyone being stupider?"

Before the words were out of his mouth, he knew he'd asked the wrong question. Ryoga just stood there, with a look on his face that he found very familiar.

"You're looking at him, David."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I don't."

Ryoga looked past David, toward the sunset.

"It'll be getting dark soon. We should set up a camp, and make something to eat. Maybe tomorrow we can walk our way out of here."

* * *

><p>From his sleeping bag inside the tent, David could see Ryoga sitting by the fire. He was busy writing in a small book. Every now and then Ryoga would stop writing, look up at the stars, and sigh sadly. David wondered what was troubling him.<p>

David opened his eyes to the sunrise. Ryoga snored in his sleeping bag, and David quietly left the tent. He started a fire, and put on some water to heat. Ryoga had left his pack sitting beside the tent, and the book he had been writing in lay beside it, apparently having fallen out.

He picked up the book, intending to tuck it back into the pack, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to sneak a quick peek. Expecting to find a journal of Ryoga's travels, probably in Japanese, he was surprised to read the beginning:

"I've decided to write this journal in English. It is good practice, and will keep my parents from being able to read it."

David grinned in amusement, and started scanning. Apparently, Ryoga had started his journal in junior high. He was involved in some sort of a feud with someone named Ranma, which sounded silly. A fight over bread?

Fearful of discovery, David began skipping pages and scanning quickly. He kept finding references to "a curse", and "Akane loving P-chan, but not me."

Who was P-chan, who was Akane, and why would Ryoga believe in curses? David decided to put the journal back, and mind his own business.

* * *

><p>Ryoga was leading, something he was definitely NOT used to. The last thing he wanted to tell David was that he was lost too. From Ryoga's estimation, the boy was about three years younger than himself, and that made him feel responsible for his well-being.<p>

"I will NOT walk in circles. I will NOT walk in circles."

Ryoga kept repeating that to himself mentally, while focused on the mountain in front of him. He'd looked all around from the camping site, spotted the mountain on the horizon, and decided that they would walk toward it. He told himself not to stop looking at the mountain. If he did that, he would walk in a straight line.

That's why he didn't see the snake until he stepped on it.

Ryoga felt the fangs of the snake penetrate his leg, right through the fabric of his pants. His martial arts instincts took over after that, and the snake was soon dead, but the damage had already been done.

"It bit you, Ryoga? We've got to take care of that right now!"

David pushed Ryoga to a sitting position, and unlaced the bindings on his pant leg. He rolled it up, and found a nasty bite on the back of Ryoga's leg.

Ryoga tried to look at it, but the positioning of the bite was such that he couldn't care for it himself. David saw his face, and nodded.

"Don't worry, I know how to take care of this."

David pulled off his pack, and dug around in it. He came up with a small first aid kit, and removed a knife from it.

"We have to get the poison out, fast."

Ryoga sat very still and didn't say a thing when David cut into the wound. But when he put his mouth to it, Ryoga pushed at him.

"What are you doing? You'll poison yourself."

"I have no cuts in my mouth. Shut up."

David quickly and efficiently cared for the wound, and bandaged it. Ryoga looked at the job he'd done, impressed.

"You did that well. Thanks."

David shrugged.

"I was in the Boy Scouts for a while, but my parents made me quit. They were always worried that I would get hurt. They baby me too much!"

David looked away, and then shook his body as if to drive away the unpleasant thought. He reached down, and pulled Ryoga up.

"We'd better get moving."

Ryoga nodded, set his gaze on the mountain, and began walking toward it. After a while, he stopped to take a drink from his bottle, and turned to David.

"Wasn't it unusual for that sort of snake to be in Connecticut?"

David's mouth dropped open.

"This isn't Connecticut. This is Colorado."

Then it hit him.

"Oh no. You're lost too."

"No. I know exactly where I'm going."

Ryoga pointed at the mountain.

"Why that mountain? What's there?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling about it."

David looked a little skeptical, but having a target was better than nothing. There was no way they would get there tonight, but maybe tomorrow...

* * *

><p>David cooked supper while Ryoga sat by the fire, shivering. It wasn't cold, but he hadn't been looking well all afternoon.<p>

"You have a fever, don't you?"

"Huh?"

Ryoga shivered again.

"Yeah, I think so."

David took out a cloth, and soaked it with cold water from his bottle. He started toward Ryoga to wipe his forehead, but Ryoga jumped.

"What are you doing?"

Before David could respond, Ryoga had knocked the cloth out of his hand. David jumped in surprise, and spilled the contents of his uncovered water bottle in Ryoga's lap. Seconds later, he stared openmouthed at a small black pig, tangled in Ryoga's clothing. The pig looked at him, opened its mouth, and looked as if it were trying to talk.

"Kwee."

David hesitantly reached out and picked the pig up. It was a tiny thing, and he noted with amusement (or was it amazement?) that the bandanna Ryoga wore around his head was now around the pig's neck.

"How, how did you do that? Is it . . . magic?"

"KWEE!"

The pig wriggled free, and ran to Ryoga's pack. He knocked it over, crawled inside, and emerged with the journal in his mouth.

"You want me to read this?"

David laughed aloud when the pig nodded at him.

David put the journal down, and put a pan of water on the fire to heat. A few minutes later, Ryoga picked up the journal again, and pushed it into David's hand.

"You want me to finish reading?"

Ryoga nodded.

"Okay."

A little while later, David finished the last page while Ryoga put his clothes back on. David closed the journal, and handed it back. He was too young to be interested in girls yet, but Ryoga's last entry still bothered him:

_"I'm lost again, Akane, somewhere in Connecticut. I wish I could see you, or hear your voice. The last time I saw you, when I told you I was going on a journey, you were kind to me, and told me to come back soon. But when I turned around to look back you were smiling at Ranma. I don't think you'll ever smile at me quite that way."_

"Why did you let me read the rest? I mean, once I found out how to change you back, it wasn't really necessary."

"I don't know, really. Maybe I just wanted you to know the whole story."

"Hey! You're not shivering anymore. Do you feel better?"

"My fever's gone. Maybe changing back and forth...I dunno."

Ryoga was quiet after that, and seemed to be deep in thought. David simply watched him, wondering how a person could deal with such a strange life. Ryoga's problems made his seem very trivial.

David maintained his silence until they were in the tent, wrapped in their sleeping bags.

"Ryoga?"

"Yes?"

"How are you going to get back to Japan?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure how I got here in the first place."

"Oh."

Ryoga drifted off, and David listened to his breathing. Eventually, the steady rhythm made him sleepy, and he began to drift off. As he did, he heard Ryoga whisper one word.

"Akane."

* * *

><p>When the travelers hit the two lane highway, they gave each other a high five and sat down for a celebratory snack. There wasn't much left in either of their packs, so they filled up on the water from their bottles and began to follow the road.<p>

After a couple of hours, they walked into a small town. David spotted a pay phone, and Ryoga started digging in his pockets for coins.

"Don't bother, Ryoga. We don't need them."

Ryoga watched as David pulled a card from his pocket, and dialed.

"Hi Mom."

"Wait a sec. Mom, don't cry-I'm fine, really! Yeah, I did, I got lost. No, someone helped me."

Ryoga walked away, to give his friend some privacy.

David's father was rather quiet on the drive back, and his son looked uncomfortable. He'd jumped out of his car, and hugged him, then held him at arm's length to make sure he was all right. After assuring himself of that, he was able to tear his attention away from David long enough to meet Ryoga.

Ryoga had accepted the invitation to return home with David. After all, he had no idea where he was anyway. What he didn't expect was the crowd of reporters that surrounded the car when they got back, or the size of the mansion David lived in.

* * *

><p>The practice dummy flew across the room, and hit the wall with a loud smack.<p>

"Not bad, Ranma. Care to practice with a real opponent?"

Ranma whirled. Ryoga was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded.

"Hey, P-chan! Where have you been? It's been months."

Ryoga took off his pack, and leaned it against the wall.

"Don't call me P-chan."

Ranma grinned.

"Make me stop."

Akane was behind the house, and the noise from the dojo attracted her attention. She discovered a sight she hadn't seen in a long time-Ryoga and Ranma in the middle of one of their battles. But something was different about this one. Neither of them seemed to be intent on killing one another, but were actually-what was it-enjoying themselves?

Normally, Akane would whip out her mallet and use it on Ranma to stop him from picking on Ryoga, but this different battle style made her hesitate. She sat in the corner next to Ryoga's pack and watched quietly as Ryoga tripped Ranma, who stumbled backwards and knocked the pack over.

"Clumsy, Ranma! Come get me!"

Ranma laughed, got up, and ran after Ryoga again. Akane picked up the pack, and a folded paper fell out of it. She picked it up, and realized that it was a newspaper clipping from Denver, Colorado. Curious, she unfolded it completely.

"HERO"

One word. Hero. And over the word, a picture of Ryoga, looking terribly embarrassed. Akane wrinkled her brow, and read the accompanying article. Ryoga had rescued a lost boy, bringing him to safety. His wealthy parents had offered him a reward, which he had refused. According to Ryoga's story, the boy had treated a poisonous snakebite that he had sustained, and as far as he was concerned they were even.

Ranma and Ryoga were getting tired. They looked at one another, smiled, and dropped their hands. Ranma put his arm around Ryoga's's shoulder, and walked him to where Akane was sitting.

"I missed you, buddy. No one gives me a workout like you do."

Ryoga looked embarrassed.

"Well, I had things to do."

"Like what?"

Ryoga sat on one side of Akane, and Ranma on the other. Akane handed Ranma the clipping.

"Like this, Ranma. Ryoga, that was a wonderful thing you did."

"Akane, I, I, I."

Ryoga was furious at himself. As usual, he couldn't talk properly when Akane smiled at him. And the smile she was giving him now was making him melt. Then Ranma laughed.

"Akane, don't tell me you fell for this! It's gotta be a fake. Ryoga, where did you have this printed up?"

As the words were leaving his mouth, Ranma knew he'd made a mistake. His fiancee was glowing with anger.

"RANMA NO BAKA! How could you doubt this?"

Ranma leaned back in the vague hope that he could avoid Akane's mallet, and was saved by Kasumi's voice, which distracted her.

"Oh, there you are, Ryoga! I've made tea for your friend. Won't you come in?"

* * *

><p>David put down his teacup when Ryoga walked in with Ranma and Akane, and shook hands with both of them. So this was the girl his friend was so crazy about? It looked like she wasn't very happy with her fiancé at the moment.<p>

"You speak Japanese very well, David."

"Thank you, Akane. I've been taking lessons for a long time now. I'm glad I can finally use it. Ryoga is going to show me around Japan."

Ranma's eyes opened as wide as they could get. "Um, unless you want to wander in circles..."

Akane pinched his hand under the table, and he yelped, but Ryoga laughed.

"He knows, Ranma. His father hired a guide for us."

They sat around the table together, talking and drinking their tea, until it was quite late. Then David reluctantly got up.

"I guess we should get back to the hotel, Ryoga. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll come see you all again before I go back home."

Akane poked Ranma, and whispered into his ear. He turned rather red, but got up and offered his hand to Ryoga.

"Sorry I doubted your story, Ryoga. I should have known better."

Ryoga just laughed.

"No problem, Ranma."

He looked down at Akane, but she had her eyes on Ranma, with that look again. The look he wouldn't be seeing directed at him. David caught it too, and understood what it meant.

The door closed behind them, and the two friends got into the waiting car. As the driver started the engine, David took a good look at Ryoga. He expected Ryoga to be upset, but he was smiling.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. Let's go have some fun."

Ryoga looked behind him as the Dojo disappeared, and told himself that there were a lot of things to do that were fun that did not include the word Akane. All he had to do was find them.

* * *

><p>I'm dedicating this story to Alan Fernandez at the request of my friend Michelle Harvey. Alan just passed away, and I'm sorry I never got to meet him. He was a big fan of the Ranma series, and especially of Ryoga. Michelle tells me that he loved my stories, and when he found out she knew me, he was, to quote her, "starstruck".<p> 


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